Why do car owners give free advertizing to the car dealer?

[sdtundra]

Originally Posted by JimN

I don't mind the plate frame as I would have to go & buy a pair.

Thats where my ASU Sundevils one goes

[h2photo]

Dealer badging was the 1st thing to go on both the Prii. I told them not to put it on, but do they listen.. NO! I would have peeled it off in the parking lot, but it was too hot

[darelldd]

Originally Posted by sdtundra

Obviously, thats what the little sticker on the windshield is for until my plates came in

OK... just checking. Sometimes people actually believe what the dealer tells them.

[Brodie]

I don't mind the plate frame as I would have to go & buy a pair.

Why do you need them at all? I didn't think they were necessary.

FWIW, I still have the dealer plate frames on my car. No stickers. They were pretty darn nice to me for a car dealership and have an awesome service department. I even get free tokens for the bridge when I visit. I think about taking them off but just haven't done it. I suppose I will eventually. I have had a few people comment "oh, I bought my car from them too". I guess if I hated them then I would certainly have removed the frames.

Personally I don't understand removing the manufacturer logos. You can pick out a Prius a mile away anyway. Boats have the same thing and I get annoyed when I see a boat and can't figure out what it is because the owner removed the labels. Same with cars, if I see an interesting car, I want to know what it is.

[Erin Rothchild ~ RE/MAX]

Is the dealership decal able to be removed without removing/hurting the paint? Would someone please share how to do this if there are any precautions, or things that make removal easy? Thank You in Advance...Erin

[Neohybrid]

I didn't realize there were so many of "us" that didn't want to advertise for the dealers. I used to be the one taking the sticker / license plate frame off the car, but for the last 20 years or so I've taken the same path as some others and told the dealer "no deal" if there are any dealer IDs on the vehicle.

lol at the getting a ticket for no license plate holder -- good one!

[dwdean]

Originally Posted by Erin Rothchild ~ RE/MAX

Is the dealership decal able to be removed without removing/hurting the paint? Would someone please share how to do this if there are any precautions, or things that make removal easy? Thank You in Advance...Erin

Yes, you can generally get these things off without damaging the paint, of course with anything of this nature YMMV depending on what exactly you do. This also works better with “new” or freshly applied stuff, but there’s no reason it shouldn’t work for older stuff as well. In any event....

The important thing to remember is that "decals" are really just stickers (a thin film with an adhesive backing) and the raised appliqués (lettering, loges, etc.) are held on with a double sided type like is used for the body molding strips sold in the shop. Given that you can't use solvent to loosen the adhesive on either type (doing that really would damage the paint), you need to use something else. The best thing I've read about and used is simple heat from an everyday hair drier.

Just gently heat the thing and carefully pull the sticker or appliqué off the car. For stickers you want to do it like you're removing masking tape, i.e. pulling the sticker back over itself (pulling straight up may damage the paint just like with masking tape.) For appliqués you want to tease the thing off gently, remember you don't have to move it far to get it off the car.

In either case don't worry too much about what happens to what you're removing; the important thing is the paint. Work carefully and take your time, you'll be fine. Oh, and no scrappers or other hard/sharp tools (except your fingernail), those are sure ways to damage the paint.

I've done this on both stickers and appliqués and never had a problem.

[pdhenry]

My dealer gives free carwashes when you buy from them. They stipulate that you either have to keep the license frame and the dealer decal on the car as proof that the car is from them. You can still get the free car washes if you remove the stuff but you have to go in and get a card to give to the carwash guys.
I'm a hand-wash fan but if I need a wash to get the salt off I'm likely to drive it over to the dealer.

[ybnormal]

Erin, mine just peeled off. If there is any glue left behind it will come off easily with a cotton ball and Avon Skin So Soft. (That is the best bug and tar remover too!)

I've always gotten a kick out of the people driving around with Arizona license plates and dealer license plate frames from out of state dealers.

First thing I do is get rid of the dealer decals/stickers and license plate frames. License plate frames are not needed or wanted in my case. We have been advertising free for over 25 years.

[darelldd]

Originally Posted by Brodie

Personally I don't understand removing the manufacturer logos. You can pick out a Prius a mile away anyway.

I remove them because the car looks better without them. And I own the car. I'm not trying to hide what kind of car it is. I'm just trying to clean it up a bit. I don't need to advertise that I drive a Toyota. Or a Prius. Or something that incorporates the high-zoot HSD technology. Why would anybody want that crap on their car?

Boats have the same thing and I get annoyed when I see a boat and can't figure out what it is because the owner removed the labels. Same with cars, if I see an interesting car, I want to know what it is.

And if it were my boat, I'd be happy to tell you. But I'm not gonna keep something on my vehicle that I don't want because somebody *else* might want it.